Yellow Star Guinea Flower

Elephant Apple Family


The Elephant Apple family (Dilleniaceae) is taxonomically unplaced as even APG III couldn't connect it to any other plants. It has few genera and only two species are significant for food.   Photo of Star Guinea Flower (Hibbertia stellaris) by Nadiatalent distributed under license Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported, attribution required.


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Elephant Apple


Three Mature Elephant Apple Fruits [Owtenga, Chulta, Chalta, Ouu (India); Dillenia indica]

This plant, native to Southeast Asia, from northeast India through Thailand and Malaysia to Indonesia. It ranges from shrub to medium size tree, almost 50 feet high. The nearly spherical fruit, which ranges from 2 to 5 inches diameter, is sour-bitter and fibrous. It is used in India, with grated coconut, to make a chutney, and also in curries, jams and jellies. In Assam state it is used in dal and fish recipes.

In India, This fruit is not grown commercially, and selling it is illegal, as is gathering it in certain core forests. This is to preserve it as food for elephants, monkeys and deer, as it is critical to their survival.   Photo taken at Huntington Botanical Gardens in Los Angeles (San Marino), California.

Katmon


Immature Katmon Fruit on Tree [Dillenia philippinensis]

This tree, native to the Philippines, grows to almost 50 feet high. The nearly spherical fruit, which ranges from 2 to 3 inches diameter, is edible, and called "Elephant Apple". It is a popular plant for home gardens in the Philippines but is IUCN rated VU (Vulnerable) in the wild. It grows well in the Philippine lowlands, but the uplands are too cold for it.   Photo of immature Katmon Fruit by MarvinBikolano distributed under license Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike v4.0 International.

Simpoh Ayer


Flowering Simpoh Ayer Plant [Dillenia suffruticosa]

This shrub is native to Sri Lanka and tropical Southeast Asia. The fruit is small and not of much interest to humans but is eaten by birds and monkeys. The large leaves are used in Malaysia and Indonesia to wrap Tempeh (fermented soybean cake) and rolled into a cone to contain Rojak Salad and other items sold by street vendors   Photo by Yosri distributed under license Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic.

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